EPA places numerous employees on leave for alleged misuse of official titles in unauthorized letter

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently placed nearly 140 employees on administrative leave amid an investigation into employees who signed on to a letter allegedly using their official titles and EPA positions.

Written as agency employees, the letter contained information that misled the public about agency business, according to officials.

The EPA confirmed it placed 139 employees on administrative leave pending an investigation.

The EPA building in Washington, D.C. (iStock)

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"The Environmental Protection Agency has a zero-tolerance policy for career bureaucrats unlawfully undermining, sabotaging and undercutting the administration’s agenda as voted for by the great people of this country last November," an EPA spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Thursday.

The letter came after President Donald Trump's administration in April fired or reassigned nearly 500 EPA employees.

President-elect Donald Trump speaks at AmericaFest, Dec. 22, 2024, in Phoenix. (Rick Scuteri/AP Photo)

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EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin confirmed 280 staffers in the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, Office of Inclusive Excellence, and EPA regional offices, were fired. 

Zeldin added that 175 others were reassigned. 

The EPA logo is displayed on a door at its headquarters on March 16, 2017, in Washington, D.C. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

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The EPA's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Environmental Justice arms were also eliminated, as Zeldin cut back more than 30 Biden-era regulations.

Though more than a hundred employees were allegedly put on leave, there are thousands of employees at the agency.

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The EPA did not provide Fox News Digital with any additional information about the situation.